Travelers from smaller cities will find it easy to access cities like Chennai
Posted on: 02/Nov/2016 12:13:50 PM
Recently the Government kick-started the regional air connectivity (RCS) scheme. This first-of-its-kind scheme globally will create affordable yet economically viable and profitable flights on regional routes so that flying becomes affordable to the common man even in small towns.
Under the scheme, mainly aimed at connecting unserved and under-served airports, airfares would be capped at Rs 2,500 for half of the seats in flights travelling a distance of 476 -500 kilometer. This translates to around a one-hour journey.
As regional airlines are struggling to sustain their services, low cost carriers like Indigo and SpiceJet and full service carriers like Jet Airways and Air India have started to connect smaller cities in a bid to make the most of the new market. Coimbatore, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad and Port Blair now have better frequency at affordable fare from Chennai as low cost carriers have added more flights in the last two months.
Unused airports at Puducherry and Vellore are expected to benefit from the new trend. The ministry is also aiming to develop small airports at Salem and Thanjavur.
Travelers from smaller cities will also find it easy to access international flights at Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.
